Method and apparatus for placement of a product or service in a gaming system

ABSTRACT

There is described herein methods and apparatuses for the placement of offerings in gaming systems. According to an embodiment of a method, a game on a gaming system is operated by at least one processor, where the game includes one or more generic elements. A branded element is dynamically substituted for a selected one of the generic elements of the game during operation of the gaming system, where the branded element serves to advertise a product or service of a third party. Systems for establishing and tracking and controlling placements are also described.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/176,794, filed Jul. 7, 2005, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,209,221,which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) from U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No 60/585,907, filed Jul. 7, 2004, all of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the invention relate to gaming machines and moreparticularly to methods and apparatus for advertising using gamingmachines.

COPYRIGHT

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialthat is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever. The following notice applies to the software and dataas described below and in the drawings that form a part of thisdocument: Copyright 2005, WMS Gaming, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

BACKGROUND

According to the Harrah's 2003 Survey and the American GamingAssociation's most recent survey, more than a quarter of Americans age21 and older gambled at a casino in 2002 (26% or 51.2 million adults).Gamblers took about 300 million trips to casinos and, on average,visited a casino about once every two months. The Harrah's 2003 Surveyalso finds that casino gambling appeals most to Americans ages 51 to 65with the percentage of participation being the following:

Ages 21-35 years old 25% 36-50 25% 51-65 30% 66 years old and above 27%

Legalized gambling is a $54 billion industry overall. Slot machines andelectronic gaming devices are the most popular casino games amongAmericans with 74% stating this preference for their gamblingentertainment. Women, by an overwhelming margin (81% to 67%) prefer toplay slot machines and electronic gaming devices compared to men. Inaddition, the income of casino players is more than 20% higher ($50,716versus $42,228) than the income of the average American.

Accordingly, casinos in general and slot machines in particular providean attractive opportunity as an advertising medium to thesedemographics. U.S. Pat. No. 6,523,824, to Colapinto, for instance,describes a method to use slot machines for advertising wherein a casinosells advertising space on slot machines to businesses. In particular,Colapinto describes that advertising icons will be placed appropriatelyon the reels of the slot machine, after which the newly programmedmachines can be operated. According to Colapinto, such an arrangementmay be encompassed in an agreement as follows: “The agreement which mustbe reached will include a price, if any, to be paid by a business tohave icons of the business and its products or services placed on theslot machine reels, the percentage of payout, and other details as willbe known to those skilled in the art.” Colapinto also indicates suchadvertising may be placed without an agreement between twoorganizations: “A supermarket, for example, might operate our systemutilizing some, or all, of its products as the basis for pay out couponsor tokens.”

U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,772 to Paige describes another method and apparatusto exploit the activity of slot machine wagering for commercialadvertising purposes and/or for dispensing of advertising, commercial orpromotional merchandise. Paige describes a slot machine in which thejackpot and/or pay off symbols are replaced with an advertiser's productidentity or logo. While the casino payoffs remain unchanged, the playerslook for a match of product logos instead of the familiar “7-7-7” orbells or cherries. In this manner, the very act of winning is linked tothe product being advertised. Additional incentives for the player, aswell as the casino, are related to this advertising method. Thedescribed method also utilizes a system for tying use of the inventionwith accumulation of points redeemable for merchandise.

In addition, it is also known that casino game manufacturers willlicense the right to use a well-known or famous entertainment product,character, game, movie or television show as the basis for a slotmachine game design. In these instances, casino game manufacturers seekto use the popularity of these well-known game designs to draw playersto the casino games in which they are used. Accordingly gamemanufacturers pay the holder of the rights to these products orentertainment media for the right to use them.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numeralsdescribe substantially similar components throughout the several views.Like numerals having different letter suffixes represent differentinstances of substantially similar components. The drawings illustrategenerally, by way of example, but not by way of limitation, variousembodiments discussed in the present document.

FIG. 1 illustrates a first product or service placement method accordingto one example embodiment of the inventive subject matter describedherein;

FIG. 2 illustrates terms and pricing according to one example embodimentof the inventive subject matter described herein;

FIG. 3 illustrates a method for placing and for determining theinvoicing and charges for product placement according to one exampleembodiment of the inventive subject matter described herein;

FIG. 4 illustrates a system for product or service placement accordingto one example embodiment of the inventive subject matter describedherein;

FIG. 5 illustrates a gaming system including product or serviceplacement according to one example embodiment of the inventive subjectmatter described herein; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a method including a product or service placementwherein a player is rewarded for, in one embodiment, viewing aplacement.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of theinvention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings (where likenumbers represent like elements), which form a part hereof, and in whichis shown, by way of illustration, specific exemplary embodiments inwhich the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described insufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice theinvention. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilizedand logical, mechanical, electrical or other changes may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the inventive subject matter describedherein.

As discussed in the background section hereof, and as recognized byothers, casino gambling machines, typically referred to as slotmachines, provide an attractive advertising opportunity. Some known artin this area, as described above, calls for an advertiser to pay orprovide other consideration or compensation to a casino for the right toadvertise on a casino game, for example by including a product logo as asymbol on a slot machine reel. In addition, it is known for slot machinemanufacturers to pay owners of popular games or entertainment media forthe right to use elements of these games or media as the game design fora casino slot machine.

As used herein, the term “offering” means a product or a service that isoffered for purchase, lease or use by a consumer, business or otherentity, such as consumer or commercial products or services. As usedherein, the term “game design” means a composition of “design elements”that collectively produce a game and the resulting gaming experience.Design elements may include, but are not limited to, thematic, plot,character, behavioral, object, visual, audio and tactile elements.

A game design includes a game play component, which provides a wageringgame for a gambler to play. Some such wagering games allow for thegambler to place a bet and initiate a game cycle in which an outcome isdetermined by at least some influence of random chance. Other gamedesign components include artwork or audiovisual displays that can beused on or above a housing or cabinet for a game, or be used inconjunction with the game, such as the display of a progressive jackpotmeter. A game design may also include a live play component that ispresented during actual play of the game, and an attract mode componentwhich is used to demonstrate, excite and attract players to the game.

A thematic element of a game design may include a general theme for anentire game, or for a sub-part of the game. For instance, a populartelevision show may be chosen as the theme of a casino game. Or, thetheme of a gaming system may be a popular arcade video game, or boardgame. A plot element may include a plot line that runs through all orpart of the game design, such as a character on a hunt for losttreasure, where the character confronts one or more challenges that mustbe overcome to find the treasure. A character element may include one ormore characters that are used in the game design, such as a charactermodeled after an animal, with the character having one or moreidentifiable attributes such as the way the character looks, acts, orspeaks. A behavioral element may define a particular type of action orbehavior that the game exhibits or an element that the game exhibits. Anobject element may comprise a particular object that appears in a game,such as a vegetable, fruit, or gem that is used in the game. Theforegoing list is not meant to be exhaustive, and many other game designelements are possible.

A game design further comprises, at one level, a work of authorship(often with inventive attributes). The party, or parties, that control,by ownership or licensing, the rights to the game design, may authorizeor effect the modification of the work, for example, by changing theappearance or attributes of a design element. Unless such changes ormodifications are authorized, it is generally impermissible for an ownerof a copy of the work to make them.

According to one example embodiment, a game design includes playsequence, mode of operation, or story line. A game design may also bepart of an attract mode sequence that demonstrates some or all of theplay sequence or script. For instance, a game design may comprise acartoon or human character acting or speaking in a certain way it mayinclude a character eating or drinking a food product such as fruit,candy bar, or soda during a game sequence. Or, a game design may includethe display of a food product on the reels of a slot machine, such asapples, bananas, oranges or cherries, or it may include the display oftypes of canned foods such as beans, fruit, vegetables or other suchfoods. Alternatively, the game design may include the depiction of aservice, such as a character eating at a particular restaurant,delivering a package, or rendering or offering other services. In suchcases, an offering is an element in the game or a segment of the game.In this situation, the particular brand of offering is not critical ormay not even important to game play. Thus, the game can be played usinggeneric offering elements without diminishing the attractiveness of thegame.

As used herein, the term “generic element” means an element of a gamedesign which does not include any trademark or service mark attributesthat would, to a reasonable person, suggest a source, in the real world,of the type of good or service the generic element may represent. Forinstance, the generic element may be a can of beans that includes alabel that that designates that the can contains beans, but does notconnote any particular source of the beans, such as Del Monte or thatthe beans were grown in Iowa. For another example, the design elementmay be a cowboy character that is not affiliated with any particularstate or television or cinematic work. For another example, the designelement may be an audio clip that is not identifiable as having anyparticular source. Or, still further, the design element may be a pairof jeans that, again, are not identifiable as having originated from aparticular producer of jeans.

Also, as used herein, the term “branded element” means a game designelement that represents or includes a branded product or serviceoffering. A branded offering carries or embodies a designation of sourceof the offering, such as a trademark or service mark in the form of aword, symbol, phrase, slogan, jingle, logo, sound or other designationof source. A branded offering may also embody a designation of source byway of a product configuration, such as the shape of a container holdinga product. According to another example embodiment, the placement may bea trademark, logo, other visual element, phrase, tactile sensation suchas a vibration, or a musical or other audio element, such as a productjingle or chime.

As used herein the term “gaming systems” includes all types of gamblingdevices such as, but not limited to, table games, displays, slotmachines, video poker gambling machines, video lottery terminals, gamingdevices, Internet or network gaming systems or devices, interactive orin-room TV gaming, or bingo or Keno systems or devices. Further, theproduct or service placement extends to any type of displays associatedwith gaming systems, for example cabinet mounted displays, or displaysgenerated on an in-room TV or computer monitor, or displays presented ona display mounted external to a gaming device or devices. For instance,two or more gaming systems linked to an overhead plasma/LCD screen.

According to at least one example embodiment, the inventive subjectmatter described herein provides methods and apparatuses for the productor service offerings in gaming system designs by casino gamemanufacturers, directly or through their agents, wherein such is paidfor by the entity promoting the offering. In various embodiments, thepayment may take the form of money, but in other embodiments the paymentis a bargained for exchange of consideration, compensation, or otheragreement for placement of the product or service offerings. Accordingto one example embodiment, such placement is achieved by substituting abranded product or service offering, for an otherwise generic element ofa game, such that the branded element appears in the context of the gamedesign as a substitute for what could otherwise be represented by ageneric element without affecting the play characteristics of the gameor diminishing the motivation of players to play the game. Suchsubstitution requires, in one embodiment, authorization from the ownerof the copyright in the game. This use of a branded element in place ofwhat may otherwise be represented by a generic element promotes istermed herein as “context placement.”

According to another example embodiment, the placement occurs outside ofthe context of the game design, such that advertising for a particularoffering does not take place within the context of the game design, butrather is conceptually separate in presentation. For example, such aseparate advertisement may comprise an advertisement run as a “spot”appearing during play of the game but not appearing to be part of thegame design. Or, the advertisement may be presented in a “billboard”space sold to an advertiser. Such space may be an area on the cabinet ortop box, or on a related screen display. Alternatively, the spot mayappear in an area of a display used to present the game itself. Thistype of placement is termed herein as “non-context placement.”

According to yet another example embodiment, the placement occurs as asubstitution of a branded product or service offering for a genericelement. Such a placement in one embodiment occurs in the context of agame design, but not to any particular theme or game. For example, in agame allowing players a certain amount of time, or other timed portionof a game, a time display is replaced by a particular brand of watch orother time keeping device. Another embodiment includes displaying theresults of a portion of a game in a snapshot from a branded camera. Afurther embodiment includes displaying game results, or other gameinformation on a branded display. In some embodiments, the brandeddisplay is a representation of a display of a piece of exerciseequipment or an automobile dashboard. Yet a further embodiment includesa display on a representation of a score board, such as a representationof an identifiable score board of a professional sports team.

FIG. 1 illustrates a first product or service placement method 100according to one example embodiment of the inventive subject matterdescribed herein. The example embodiment of FIG. 1 includes a gamingsystem manufacturer, directly or through an agent, entering into aplacement agreement with a provider of an offering, such as a product orservice, illustrated as block 110, wherein the agreement calls for theprovider to pay for the placement in the game of a branded element. Suchpayment may be direct to the manufacturer, or indirect to an agent, orother third-party, of the manufacturer. An example of an indirectpayment would be the manufacturer receiving payments from a distributionparty that has been authorized by the manufacturer to sell rights forthe manufacturer. Further, pay in this context includes otherconsideration such as a licensing or cross-licensing agreement, orvirtually any other bargained for exchange of promises or compensation.The manufacturer manufactures or otherwise produces or configures thegaming system to include a placement of an offering, as illustrated inblock 112. For example, this may be either a context or a non-contextplacement. The gaming system with the placement is made available forplay by gambling customers, as illustrated by block 114. Gamblingcustomers or others in turn view and/or play the gaming system and viewthe placement of an offering, as illustrated at block 116. The placementmay be accomplished in a static fashion, for example one-time atmanufacture, or in a dynamic fashion, using software control over, forinstance, a network. According to another example embodiment, the methodprovides for dynamically introducing the offering placement into thegaming system such as by dynamically programming the machine to displayor play the placement at a desired time, for example at a particulartime of year that coincides with a seasonal product for instance, or ata particular time of day that coincides with the time of day an offeringor message may be most desirable to present. For instance, a placementfor a dinner show offering may be best presented in late afternoon,while advertisements for a sports event would coincide with theappropriate season. Another example includes dynamically causing theplacement to be perceived upon the occurrence of a game event, a userinitiated action, a time of day or date, or other event.

According to one example embodiment, a placement can be anywhere on thegaming system such as the display, cabinet, glass, buttons, billvalidator, coin acceptor, card reader, ticket dispenser/acceptor, andcan take any form such as visual, audio, tactile, or smell, and can betriggered by any trigger such as game play, button press, billinsert/dispense, card insert/dispense, coin insert/dispense, or others.The placement can be incorporated into the game as a single reel symbol,for instance a soft drink advertising symbol such as a brand name of asoft drink Other embodiments include placements of other beverages suchas alcoholic beverages, energy/sports drinks, water, and others.

FIG. 2 illustrates terms and pricing according to one example embodimentof the inventive subject matter described herein. According the exampleembodiment of FIG. 2, there is provided a framework 200 for establishingpricing and sales criteria for selling and pricing the placements soldby a gaming system manufacturer. Such criteria include, as illustrated,criteria based on type of offering 210, locality of the placement 212,time of day of the placement 214, the potential audience and potentialdemographics of the audience for the placement 216, the type of machinethe placement is presented on 218, and the transient duration of theplacement 220, such as how long the placement appears during a phase ofthe game, such as the splash page or during a bonus round. In someembodiments, the criteria further includes the number of games theplacement is presented in 222, the life cycle of such games 224, theexclusivity of the placement 226, and other factors 228. According toanother example embodiment, other factors on which to price theplacement fees include the volume of machines expected or placed in thefield or in use, as well as how often the placement will be visible whenthe game is idle and not being played. This latter factor may be moreapplicable when the placement is placed on the reels of a slot machinethan when placed in a bonus round, which is less likely to be viewedwhen the game is idle unless, for instance, a preview is shown in anattract or demonstration mode of operation.

FIG. 3 illustrates a method for placing and determining the invoicingand charges for product placement according to one example embodiment ofthe inventive subject matter described herein. According the exampleembodiment FIG. 3, there is provided a method 300 for charging forplacement wherein the number of player viewings or uses of the game withthe placement are tracked, as indicated in block 310, and the placementis paid for based on the number of viewings or uses, as indicated inblock 312. Such payments may also be dependent on the demographics ofthe viewers or users of the machine in which the placement is made, orbased on any of the other factors enumerated with respect to FIG. 2, orany other criteria. Such demographics may be determined by a playeridentification card or other systems for identifying a specific playeror profile of a type of player using a game. According to anotherexample embodiment, a party placing an offering can pay the manufacturerbased on amount of time their ads are in front of a player or otherviewer. Such payments include virtually any type of payment or bargainedfor exchange. In some embodiments, the placement does not involve anexchange of money, but instead an exchange of other value such as across licensing agreement.

FIG. 4 illustrates a system for product or service placement accordingto one example embodiment of the inventive subject matter describedherein. According to the example embodiment of FIG. 4, there is provideda software system 400 including a server 410 optionally connected to aplurality of casino gaming systems 412. Server 410 includes a datastorage unit 414 and software 416. Software 416 includes one or moreprograms for recording agreement information and using that informationfor determining charges to be assessed to parties making productplacements. Server 410 further includes one or more programs forcommunicating with the casino slot machines or other gaming systems 412in order to send or receive instructions or data. Server 410 may store,for instance, placement images or audios or other digital datacontaining a product placement, and such data may be sent to one or moreof the casino gaming systems 412. Casino gaming systems 412 may includeone or more programs for communicating with the server 410 in order toreport the number of users or plays of a particular slot machineincluding a product placement, or to receive instructions and data inorder to dynamically present placement information under the control anddirection of the server 410. Alternatively, server 410 may receive useor user demographic data from a different system also connected to thegaming systems 412, such as an existing game management system.

According to another example embodiment, the game can also come from thecentral server 410 or another central server. In some such embodimentsincluding a server 410, there are multiple central servers. Some centralservers manage distribution of product placements across a group ofgaming machines. Management of product placement distribution includesdistributing placements to individual gaming machines based on variousfactors. Some such factors include a player identity derived from a cardswiped on a card reader, or other player identification device such as aradio frequency identification device (RFID).

Server 410 in addition may include one or more programs for determiningcharges to be assessed for product placement, and invoicing the entitymaking the placement for payment back to the manufacturer. Server 410includes an electronic billing module 410 a that provides for presentingan electronic invoice to a party paying for a placement.

Further, according to another example embodiment, server 410 includes aweb services module 410 b that allows parties paying for offeringplacements to log on and view reports or report data on placements, suchas the number of times a dynamic placement has been displayed or viewedby users of the gaming systems, the dates or date ranges such hasoccurred, demographic information on what types or profiles of playersare being presented with the placements, or any other data that is knownto or collected in the server 410.

Thus, the placement of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein mayprovide the following features or benefits under certain circumstances:

-   -   Slot machine/casino game medium reaches millions of new eyeballs        within targeted demographics    -   The number of impressions that a patron can view per sitting is        higher than in movies/TV shows    -   Captive audience and more accurately measurable audience for        long and uninterrupted periods of time    -   Reaches vast audiences via ever expanding global distribution        channels (i.e., interactive television, mobile gaming, internet        gaming) for casino games    -   Reaches audiences at times when they are very attentive        (positive experiences during winning spins or bonus rounds)    -   Build national/international recognition for products (get        people talking about products) and help/support advertisers        launch new products/product lines    -   Deliver powerful, yet subtle impressions if implemented in a way        that does not interrupt the flow of the game and is therefore        less obtrusive than other forms of advertising    -   The actual life of a placement can be longer than in traditional        mediums (unlike a TV commercial which appears only during a        particular program and then vanishes unless another fee is paid,        placement is embedded within the game and travels with it as        long as it remains on floors)    -   Full control of content channel enables delivery of exact        message in a desired form    -   Less expensive advertising medium, particularly compared to the        over $100,000 cost of placing a single spot ad in prime time        (and the corresponding CPMs of $13 (men 21+) and $19 (women        21+))    -   Viewers cannot skip product ads using digital video recorders        and are unlikely to leave the game in the middle

FIG. 5 illustrates a gaming system including product or serviceplacement according to one example embodiment of the inventive subjectmatter described herein. According to the example embodiment illustratedin FIG. 5 there is shown an example gaming system 500 (in this examplemore particularly referred to as a slot machine) featuring one exampleof a product placement. Gaming system 500 may be a freestanding machineor a tabletop machine of the mechanical or electronic video variety. Thetop fascia 510 of the machine 500 may include space for an advertisingmessage or logo 512. Small logos in the exact aspect ratio and image ofthe jackpot and/or pay off symbols 514 are also shown. In the embodimentillustrated, the pay off symbols 514 include soup cans. The soup cansinclude generic soup cans depicted by the letter “S” and a branded soupcan depicted by the striping of logo 512.

Such symbols 514 may appear in pay-off tables. Controls of the machine500, such as touch screens, knobs, or pull handles, may also be used topresent logos or other product placements. The bottom fascia 520 alsooffers a large advertising space. In addition, where an LCD or othertype of display is used instead of or in addition to keypads and othermechanical/electrical buttons on gaming systems, the LCD or otherdisplay is a candidate location for product placement. In someembodiments, there is a location on a menu of a display of a game usedfor product placement. Selection of such a menu item causes informationrelated to the subject of the placement to be displayed to a player.According to one example embodiment of the machine 500, there isprovided a card slot 530. The card slot 530 is used by players who arecasino members, such that a card, which is machine-readable, allows themachine to collect information via the card slot 530. For example,player demographics or preferences can be collected using the card slot530.

According to one example embodiment, if the placement is audio, it canbe generated automatically by the game play or alternatively, by playerinitiation or action. In one example embodiment, for instance, a partycould pay, exchange services, license, cross license, or otherwise enterinto an agreement with a gaming system manufacturer to have its slotmachines play the recognizable THX audio signature when a player insertsa $100 bill into the bill validator of a slot machine. In anotherembodiment, the placement may be an audio that is unrelated to thespecific game but relevant to create awareness that the gaming systemuses a particular technology inside such as a chip from a semiconductormanufacturer, software from a software company, a sound system from aparticular sound system manufacturer, or a graphics chip or board from aparticular company.

Placement advertising may occur in content on an overhead plasma/LCDdisplay, and be considered part of a gaming system, as long as it isunder the control of a gaming device (even though it is itself not agaming device). Thus, placement in a gaming system may take the form ofproducts placed in auxiliary displays or auxiliary equipment, such as aseat associated with a gaming system. Such an auxiliary display may noteven be under the control of the gaming device, but only associated withthe gaming device, such as being mounted in or on a cabinet or otherpart of the gaming device, for example a LCD display on a slot machinechair.

FIG. 6 illustrates a method 600 including a product or service placementwherein a player is rewarded for, in one embodiment, viewing aplacement. According to method 600, a player plays a gaming system andis exposed to one or more offering placements during the course of play,either randomly or by design 602. After the player views an offeringplacement one or more times, the player is afforded a chance at a freespin or other free round of the game 604, or can be afforded some otherbenefit. The party paying for the placement could pay for such a playerreward. According to another example embodiment, the reward is grantedonce the player has viewed one or more advertisements dynamicallypresented in the game display, wherein the advertisements are notnecessarily offering placements. The number of times that the placementor advertising has to be viewed prior to a reward being granted to aplayer may be fixed or may be random in number or may be dynamicallydetermined. According to these example embodiments, the player receivesa positive reward in association with a particular placement oradvertising, and thus there is potentially a greater likelihood theplayer will remember the placement or advertising. Thus, such aplacement or advertising may cost more.

According to still another embodiment, a gaming system according to theinvention may take the form of a stand-alone device having its owncabinet, or it may be deployed on a workstation or personal computersuch as an Apple™ brand computer or a PC-compatible computer. Further,the gaming system may operate in a stand-alone mode, or it may beoperated over or on a network, or may operate by itself or inconjunction or cooperation with other gaming systems, such as in acompetitive gaming or progressive gaming environment. In any event, thetype of gaming system the inventive subject matter is implemented on isnot important and may be any type of system now in use or laterdeveloped.

One other embodiment includes an incentive to players for choosing towatch an advertisement. For example, the player can choose to play agame without advertising. In another embodiment, the player can beoffered an extra bonus if the player chooses to enable the ads, such asextra paylines or other features. For some embodiments, the extra bonusis subsidized from part of the money paid by the advertiser. Forexample, assuming a penny game: The advertiser agrees to pay $0.50 foreach time its ad is shown. A first portion (e.g. 15 cents) goes towardgiving the player 3 extra paylines for five spins. A second portion(e.g. 20 cents) goes to the casino and a third portion (e.g. 15 cents)goes to the gaming machine manufacturer.

It is emphasized that the Abstract is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R.§1.72(b) requiring an Abstract that will allow the reader to quicklyascertain the nature and gist of the technical disclosure. It issubmitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpretor limit the scope or meaning of the claims.

In the foregoing Detailed Description, various features are groupedtogether in a single embodiment to streamline the disclosure. Thismethod of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intentionthat the claimed embodiments of the invention require more features thanare expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of asingle disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing onits own as a separate embodiment.

It will be readily understood to those skilled in the art that variousother changes in the details, material, and arrangements of the partsand method stages which have been described and illustrated in order toexplain the nature of this inventive subject matter may be made withoutdeparting from the principles and scope of the inventive subject matteras expressed in the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method of operating awagering game on a gaming system, the wagering game including a firstplurality of symbols that includes one or more generic symbols, themethod comprising: receiving, via at least one of one or more inputdevices, an input indicative of a wager initiating the wagering game;dynamically substituting, by at least one of one or more processors andduring operation of the gaming system, a branded symbol for a selectedone of the one or more generic symbols of the first plurality of symbolsto form a second plurality of symbols, the branded symbol advertising aproduct or service of a third party; randomly selecting, via at leastone processor of the one or more processors, a game outcome of thewagering game; and displaying to a player, via at least one of one ormore display devices, one or more symbols of the second plurality ofsymbols that represent the randomly selected game outcome.
 2. The methodof claim 1, further comprising compensating, by at least one of the oneor more processors, a provider of the game or the gaming system for thesubstituting.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the third party providesthe compensation.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprisingrewarding, by at least one of the one or more processors, the playerwith a reward for viewing the branded symbol one or more times duringplay of the game.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the rewarding occursin response to the player viewing the branded symbol a minimum number oftimes during play of the game.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein thebranded symbol is at least one of the one or more displayed symbols thatrepresent the randomly selected game outcome.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the branded symbol is of the same type as the generic symbol. 8.A gaming system configured to operate a wagering game, the wagering gameincluding a first plurality of symbols that includes one or more genericsymbols, the gaming system comprising: one or more input devices; one ormore display devices; one or more processors; and one or more memorydevices storing instructions which, when executed by at least one of theone or more processors, cause the gaming system to: receive, via atleast one of the one or more input devices, an input indicative of awager initiating a wagering game; dynamically substitute a brandedsymbol for a selected one of the one or more generic symbols of thefirst plurality of symbols to form a second plurality of symbols, thebranded symbol advertising a product or service of a third party;randomly select a game outcome; and display to a player, via at leastone of the one or more display devices, one or more symbols of thesecond plurality of symbols that represent the randomly selected gameoutcome.
 9. The gaming system of claim 8, wherein the instructionsfurther cause the gaming system to compensate a provider of the game orthe gaming system for the substituting.
 10. The gaming system of claim9, wherein the third party provides the compensation.
 11. The gamingsystem of claim 8, wherein the instructions further cause the gamingsystem to reward a player of the game for viewing the branded symbol oneor more times during play of the game.
 12. The gaming system of claim11, wherein the reward is subsidized by the third party.
 13. The gamingsystem of claim 11, wherein the rewarding occurs in response to theplayer viewing the branded symbol a number of times during play of thegame.
 14. The gaming system of claim 8, wherein the branded symbol is ofthe same type as the generic element.
 15. A non-transitorymachine-readable medium comprising instructions, which when executed byone or more processors, cause a gaming system to perform a methodcomprising: receiving, via at least one of one or more input devices, aninput indicative of a wager initiating a wagering game including a firstplurality of symbols that includes one or more generic symbols;dynamically substitute, during operation of the gaming system, a brandedsymbol for a selected one of the one or more generic symbols of thefirst plurality of symbols to form a second plurality of symbols, thebranded symbol advertising a product or service of a third party;randomly select a game outcome of the wagering game; and display, via atleast one of one or more display devices, one or more symbols of thesecond plurality of symbols that represent the randomly selected gameoutcome.
 16. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15,wherein the instructions cause the gaming system to compensate aprovider of the game or the gaming system for the substituting.
 17. Thenon-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the thirdparty provides the compensation.
 18. The non-transitory machine-readablemedium of claim 15, wherein the instructions cause the machine to rewarda player of the game for viewing the branded symbol one or more timesduring play of the game.
 19. The non-transitory machine-readable mediumof claim 15, wherein the branded element is at least one of one or moredisplayed symbols representing a game outcome.
 20. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the rewarding occurs inresponse to the player viewing the branded symbol a number of timesduring play of the game.